Government Accountability Office: Nonfederal Efforts to Help Achieve Health Information Interoperability

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has published this report describing nonfederal efforts to help achieve health information interoperability. The GAO defines EHR interoperability is the ability of systems to exchange electronic health information with other systems and process the information without special effort by the user, such as a health care provider. The initiatives profiled include efforts to create guidance related to health data standards, encourage the adoption of certain health data standards or policies that facilitate interoperability, and operate networks that connect EHR systems to enable interoperability.  While some initiatives are making their products or services available at no cost, others are charging a fee for their products or services based on the type of entity using the product or service (e.g., individual physician or hospital) or the amount of data exchanged. Similarly, over half of the initiatives were using varying approaches to facilitate patient access to and control over their health information.

The GAO identified the five top challenges to interoperability:

1. Insufficiencies in health data standards
2. Variation in state privacy rules
3. Accurately matching patients’ health records
4. Costs associated with interoperability
5. The need for governance and trust among entities, such as agreements to facilitate the sharing of information among all participants in an initiative.

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